Blair announces Iraq troop withdrawal

Prime Minister Tony Blair today announced the first large-scale withdrawal of British troops from Iraq since the 2003 war, with 1,600 personnel expected back in the coming months.

Mr Blair told MPs in the House of Commons that Britain's 7,100-strong deployment in the south of the country would be reduced to around 5,500.

Further withdrawals could cut the force to less than 5,000 by late summer, but British troops will remain in Iraq to support local authorities into 2008 "for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do", Mr Blair said.

Mr Blair said that the pull-out of troops had been made possible by the successful conclusion of Operation Sinbad, which has seen UK and Iraqi forces going through Basra district by district removing insurgent hotspots and supporting reconstruction.

This meant that Iraqi authorities were now able to take over responsibility for security, he said.

"What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be, but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra's history can be written by Iraqis," the PM told MPs in a statement.

Mr Blair said that he had discussed his proposals with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who had given his agreement and support for the withdrawals.

UK troops remaining in Iraq will hand over all bases except for Basra Air Base and Basra Palace to local authorities, and the bulk of them will withdraw to the air base over the next few months.

From there, they will offer support to the Iraqi security forces and will have responsibility for training homegrown troops, securing the Iraq/Iran border, securing supply routes and conducting operations against extremists.

Mr Blair made clear that the exact pace of British troops' return home would depend on the situation on the ground and the Iraqi forces' ability to maintain stability.

Asked when the first troops could be expected back, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "It's going to be very much a phased process. It will be a gradual reduction throughout the spring."

The spokesman was unable to name a date when the first troops would return.

Mr Blair told MPs: "None of this will mean a diminution in our combat capability.

"The actual reduction in forces will be down from the present 7,100 - itself down from over 9,000 two years ago and 40,000 at the time of the conflict - to roughly 5,500.

"However, with the exception of the forces which will remain at Basra Palace, the British forces will be located at Basra Air Base and be in a support role."

He added: "The British forces that remain in Iraq will have the following roles: training and support to Iraq's forces, securing the Iraq/Iran borders, securing supply routes and above all the ability to conduct operations against extremist groups and be there in support of the Iraqi army when called upon.

"Over time and depending, naturally, on progress and the capability of the Iraqi security forces, we will be able to draw down further, possibly to below 5,000 once the Basra Palace site has been transferred to the Iraqis in late summer."

Britain has already handed responsibility for two of the four provinces it controlled in southern Iraq - al-Muthanna and Dhi Qar - and hopes to transfer Maysan province within the next few months and Basra itself in the second half of 2007, said Mr Blair.

"The UK military presence will continue into 2008 for as long as we are wanted and have a job to do," he said.

"Increasingly, our role will be supporting and training, and our numbers will be able to reduce accordingly."